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Saratoga Springs, New York
The Skidmore News
Volume 72 Thursday, November 13, 1986 [February 5, 1987] Number 2
Naomi Tutu-Seavers: Non Violent Change
by Edward Nebel
Naomi Tutu-Seavers, daughter of South African Arch Bishop Desmond Tutu, was raised in the peaceful minded atmosphere of her family reflecting the philosophy of her father, an oasis in the turmoil and anger existing in the Republic of South Africa. Born in South Africa on August 8, 1960, she was educated in Switzerland, England, and the United States. She graduated from the University of Kentucky with a degree in International Commerce and Diplomacy, and has been actively involved in the antiapartheid movement since 1978. On January 25th she came to speak at Skidmore.
Naomi Tutu-Seavers is a charming young lady; considering the seriousness of her topic, this quality conveyed her convictions to the audience with grace not anger. She is petite, pretty, articulate and confident, inspiring hope for the future of a post-Apartheid S. Africa, and of the most intelligent, peaceful way of getting there. Some lecturers start off with a joke, often leading to long-winded speeches full of redundant hyperbole and repetition, but Naomi Tutu-Seavers started off simply, sincerely, mentioning with a smile that she always enjoys a good meal after her speaking engagements as she does not like to cook, and that although her agent advises that she dine after a lecture, at Skidmore she was treated to not one, but two great meals beforehand. She then immediately confronted her topic and gave an excellent, concise, and yet impassioned talk, lasting less than half an hour.
“It is really a great honor for me to participate, in this small way, in your celebration of and honor to, the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,” was the opening statement leading to a direct discussion of the “criminality of apartheid." Naomi Tutu-Seavers got the point across quickly, explaining where this criminality lies: in the Land Acts of 1913 and 1936, which gave 87% of the land to the ruling white minority, a land rich in minerals and soil, while the black majority is given the remaining 13% of inhospitable territory; “it is there,” she continued, in an educational system set up to promote the notion of racial inferiority, in the infant mortality rate of one quarter of all-children under the age of one, and in the malnutrition of the young leading to mental deficiency, in a country that prides itself on exporting food. The list of crimes built up, leading to what she considered apartheid’s worst crime of all: not seen on TV or in the newspapers, it is what it does to the human spirit, “of both the oppressed and the oppressors, and that is much harder to describe.”
She then told a touching personal story about how her younger sister grew up with mostly white friends, and how that whenever they would go to the swimming pool, her little sister couldn’t go because it was a “whites only” pool. She then went crying to her father who told that her friends still loved her, that he and her family loved her, but that sometimes he felt that they were “God’s Stepchildren.’’“Apartheid’s real crime,” she added, “is that you make a child of God doubt that he or she is a child of God.” Tutu-Seavers went on to say that apartheid is presented as God’s Will, “a system that teaches you that you are worthless because of the color of your skin.” This is the most evil aspect of the system, the part that must be conquered if South Africa is to be free, she said, and added that it is this aspect that we must consider in our celebration of Dr. King. On the subject of Dr. King’s vision she dwelled hopefully, evoking utopian images of a brotherhood of humanity where white and black, all colors, religions and convictions, could get along peacefully, emphasizing the complex interdependency of all people.
After talking about Dr. King, she told the audience an African proverb: “People are people, through other people,” and how she came to realize the truth of this in relation to oppressed and oppressor. She related a witty story about her days in boarding school in England. As it was a school for young ladies, the only punishments dished out were hours in a detention room after school. She often spent time there, either doing homework or in abstract contemplation of ideas. One day it struck her: she could be out shopping or hanging out with her friends or whatever, but there she sat; and the teacher who had to sit there with them could also be doing her own thing, but there she sat. Naomi Tutu-Seavers realized that her punishment also punished this teacher, and understood that the whites in South Africa too were oppressed: with their fences, guns, and guard dogs. They were constantly ill at ease, both for their physical well-being and the fact that they understood that they were doing wrong, that something wasn’t fair, and that they supported this directly or indirectly through inaction or support of apartheid. Fear: “The proof of their oppression.” She then stated that the whites are victims of apartheid’s previously mentioned real crime, “The crime that separates us, one from the other." Tutu-Seavers continued on about how apartheid hurts everyone, leaving off with a religious quotation: “Whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers, that you do unto me.”
Naomi Tutu-Seavers went on to speak about the movement against apartheid, saying that if one is neutral, one is on the side of the oppressors. She did not mention the infamous “necklacing” (the execution of victims by the placing of gasoline-soaked tires around their bodies and lighting them on fire) of some neutral blacks and black government employees by angry crowds of antiapartheid protesters, but she firmly advocated non-violence as the best way to achieve a lasting peace. She did not mention Nelson Mandela, or Chief Minister of Kwazulu Buthelezi, but again her concentration was on the more abstract notions of the spirit of humanity, the brotherhood of man. It was much less politically oriented than it could have been. She was talking about people. She said that we must stand on the side of those who advocate freedom, and thus we help those who suffer from apartheid, being directly the blacks, and in Tutu-Seaver’s opinion, the whites too, and all of the Republic: “For the oppression of blacks, imprisons whites, but equally as important, the emancipation of blacks, free whites; this is true in South Africa, and true in America.” She made an appeal for our support, that they might be free without bloodshed. And Naomi Tutu-Seavers there ended her speech with the proverb, slightly altered and an excellent cap to her well constructed talk: a person, is a person, through other people.
There were several questions asked and she responded to them all, but one in particular elicited a response reflecting Naomi Tutu-Seaver’s belief and hope for a peaceful change. A young lady from South Africa was in the audience, and she asked how the speaker could imagine that change could happen without killing them (the whites), for they are impossible to negotiate with. Her response was that one should never give up, until the clock has actually struck midnight, that no matter what happens, we must exercise every peaceful possibility before resorting to violence. Then the well-known issue of divestiture was brought up. Does it hurt the blacks? Yes, she acknowledged, it does, but its not like the blacks don’t know that it will hurt them; they believe that they must suffer now, to make gains for the future. The argument used against divestment is precisely that, and it is being used by people, said Tutu-Seavers, who never cared before but are now worried that the whites will be hurt or that business may suffer. Students must do more than try to get their schools to divest she said, they simply satisfy themselves with a deed well done and then drop the issue. They must continue to promote change by keeping the issue alive and staying informed. She called a lot of the changes “cosmetic” and made for our rather naive consumption. One of Naomi Tutu-Seaver’s last and memorable quotations was the following: “People all over the world are dying to participate in their government; you have it, use it.”
photo by John Pitman
inside:
Resnick on Politics 3
Oren's Corner 8
Skid Sports 9

Saratoga Springs, New York
The Skidmore News
Volume 72 Thursday, November 13, 1986 [February 5, 1987] Number 2
Naomi Tutu-Seavers: Non Violent Change
by Edward Nebel
Naomi Tutu-Seavers, daughter of South African Arch Bishop Desmond Tutu, was raised in the peaceful minded atmosphere of her family reflecting the philosophy of her father, an oasis in the turmoil and anger existing in the Republic of South Africa. Born in South Africa on August 8, 1960, she was educated in Switzerland, England, and the United States. She graduated from the University of Kentucky with a degree in International Commerce and Diplomacy, and has been actively involved in the antiapartheid movement since 1978. On January 25th she came to speak at Skidmore.
Naomi Tutu-Seavers is a charming young lady; considering the seriousness of her topic, this quality conveyed her convictions to the audience with grace not anger. She is petite, pretty, articulate and confident, inspiring hope for the future of a post-Apartheid S. Africa, and of the most intelligent, peaceful way of getting there. Some lecturers start off with a joke, often leading to long-winded speeches full of redundant hyperbole and repetition, but Naomi Tutu-Seavers started off simply, sincerely, mentioning with a smile that she always enjoys a good meal after her speaking engagements as she does not like to cook, and that although her agent advises that she dine after a lecture, at Skidmore she was treated to not one, but two great meals beforehand. She then immediately confronted her topic and gave an excellent, concise, and yet impassioned talk, lasting less than half an hour.
“It is really a great honor for me to participate, in this small way, in your celebration of and honor to, the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,” was the opening statement leading to a direct discussion of the “criminality of apartheid." Naomi Tutu-Seavers got the point across quickly, explaining where this criminality lies: in the Land Acts of 1913 and 1936, which gave 87% of the land to the ruling white minority, a land rich in minerals and soil, while the black majority is given the remaining 13% of inhospitable territory; “it is there,” she continued, in an educational system set up to promote the notion of racial inferiority, in the infant mortality rate of one quarter of all-children under the age of one, and in the malnutrition of the young leading to mental deficiency, in a country that prides itself on exporting food. The list of crimes built up, leading to what she considered apartheid’s worst crime of all: not seen on TV or in the newspapers, it is what it does to the human spirit, “of both the oppressed and the oppressors, and that is much harder to describe.”
She then told a touching personal story about how her younger sister grew up with mostly white friends, and how that whenever they would go to the swimming pool, her little sister couldn’t go because it was a “whites only” pool. She then went crying to her father who told that her friends still loved her, that he and her family loved her, but that sometimes he felt that they were “God’s Stepchildren.’’“Apartheid’s real crime,” she added, “is that you make a child of God doubt that he or she is a child of God.” Tutu-Seavers went on to say that apartheid is presented as God’s Will, “a system that teaches you that you are worthless because of the color of your skin.” This is the most evil aspect of the system, the part that must be conquered if South Africa is to be free, she said, and added that it is this aspect that we must consider in our celebration of Dr. King. On the subject of Dr. King’s vision she dwelled hopefully, evoking utopian images of a brotherhood of humanity where white and black, all colors, religions and convictions, could get along peacefully, emphasizing the complex interdependency of all people.
After talking about Dr. King, she told the audience an African proverb: “People are people, through other people,” and how she came to realize the truth of this in relation to oppressed and oppressor. She related a witty story about her days in boarding school in England. As it was a school for young ladies, the only punishments dished out were hours in a detention room after school. She often spent time there, either doing homework or in abstract contemplation of ideas. One day it struck her: she could be out shopping or hanging out with her friends or whatever, but there she sat; and the teacher who had to sit there with them could also be doing her own thing, but there she sat. Naomi Tutu-Seavers realized that her punishment also punished this teacher, and understood that the whites in South Africa too were oppressed: with their fences, guns, and guard dogs. They were constantly ill at ease, both for their physical well-being and the fact that they understood that they were doing wrong, that something wasn’t fair, and that they supported this directly or indirectly through inaction or support of apartheid. Fear: “The proof of their oppression.” She then stated that the whites are victims of apartheid’s previously mentioned real crime, “The crime that separates us, one from the other." Tutu-Seavers continued on about how apartheid hurts everyone, leaving off with a religious quotation: “Whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers, that you do unto me.”
Naomi Tutu-Seavers went on to speak about the movement against apartheid, saying that if one is neutral, one is on the side of the oppressors. She did not mention the infamous “necklacing” (the execution of victims by the placing of gasoline-soaked tires around their bodies and lighting them on fire) of some neutral blacks and black government employees by angry crowds of antiapartheid protesters, but she firmly advocated non-violence as the best way to achieve a lasting peace. She did not mention Nelson Mandela, or Chief Minister of Kwazulu Buthelezi, but again her concentration was on the more abstract notions of the spirit of humanity, the brotherhood of man. It was much less politically oriented than it could have been. She was talking about people. She said that we must stand on the side of those who advocate freedom, and thus we help those who suffer from apartheid, being directly the blacks, and in Tutu-Seaver’s opinion, the whites too, and all of the Republic: “For the oppression of blacks, imprisons whites, but equally as important, the emancipation of blacks, free whites; this is true in South Africa, and true in America.” She made an appeal for our support, that they might be free without bloodshed. And Naomi Tutu-Seavers there ended her speech with the proverb, slightly altered and an excellent cap to her well constructed talk: a person, is a person, through other people.
There were several questions asked and she responded to them all, but one in particular elicited a response reflecting Naomi Tutu-Seaver’s belief and hope for a peaceful change. A young lady from South Africa was in the audience, and she asked how the speaker could imagine that change could happen without killing them (the whites), for they are impossible to negotiate with. Her response was that one should never give up, until the clock has actually struck midnight, that no matter what happens, we must exercise every peaceful possibility before resorting to violence. Then the well-known issue of divestiture was brought up. Does it hurt the blacks? Yes, she acknowledged, it does, but its not like the blacks don’t know that it will hurt them; they believe that they must suffer now, to make gains for the future. The argument used against divestment is precisely that, and it is being used by people, said Tutu-Seavers, who never cared before but are now worried that the whites will be hurt or that business may suffer. Students must do more than try to get their schools to divest she said, they simply satisfy themselves with a deed well done and then drop the issue. They must continue to promote change by keeping the issue alive and staying informed. She called a lot of the changes “cosmetic” and made for our rather naive consumption. One of Naomi Tutu-Seaver’s last and memorable quotations was the following: “People all over the world are dying to participate in their government; you have it, use it.”
photo by John Pitman
inside:
Resnick on Politics 3
Oren's Corner 8
Skid Sports 9